


you're family...and i'm never leaving you behind

by ItsyBitsyBatsySpider



Category: DCU, Shazam! (2019)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Billy's mom is a bitch and we dont like her, Gen, Nightmares, Other, Sadness, Some comfort, Swearing, crying in the rain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-07
Updated: 2019-06-07
Packaged: 2020-04-12 03:08:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19123330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ItsyBitsyBatsySpider/pseuds/ItsyBitsyBatsySpider
Summary: A few months after finding his mom, Billy has a nightmare that hits closer to home than he would like. But luckily for him, he has a great big sister who is willing to be there for him always and no matter what.





	you're family...and i'm never leaving you behind

**Author's Note:**

> wrote this in a day, and I am pretty impressed it turned out to be 6k! Like, come on thats awesome! And anyway, since it was written in a day, some parts are sloppier than others. But hey, part of getting better at something is making mistakes. Anyway, this is a Billy and Mary bonding fic, no slash or anything like that. So dont worry. 
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy!

Billy stood in the middle of a street, snow falling in little white fluffs, and the sky swirled in inky black. An endless abyss. There were no stars and no moonlight shined down on him or the street, and it was just shadow and darkness. The boy looked around, seeing nothing around him. He gulped nervously and called out. 

 

“Hello?” he cried into the street. “Is anyone there?” 

 

No reply came and he could only stand there as he heard his voice echo back to him. Billy spun around, trying to find any sign of life in the street, but he was only met with even more darkness and shadow. The brunet felt panic rise inside of him and his heart began to beat furiously. 

 

“Hello!?” he shouted. “Please! Can anyone hear me!?” 

 

“Why are you here?” a voice said behind Billy. The brunet whipped his head around and froze when he saw who had spoken. His eyes widened and his hands trembled in shock. It was a woman in her thirties, wearing a bright red coat and a white hat. Her caramel hair draped down her shoulders and green eyes, so much like his, stared at him in confusion. 

 

“Mom?” Billy asked. The woman stared at Billy, her face moving ever so slightly to shift into an expression of disgust. She took a step back, her lip curled. 

 

“What do you want?” she asked, distaste evident in her voice. “I thought I took care of you.” 

 

Billy’s heart dropped into his stomach and snow fell onto his lashes. “Mom, please, I need your help. I don’t know where I am.” the boy pleaded. 

 

The woman looked him up and down, her face still frozen with revulsion. She would help him wouldn’t she? She was his mother after all and she was the only person here. Wouldn’t she be kind enough to help her son? 

 

“I don’t need to help you. You’re already good on your own and you’re better off without me, Billy,” she paused, “and frankly I’m better off without you.” she gave Billy one last look before turning her back on him. The brunet stared at her, his eyes reflecting the hopelessness and anguish he felt as he stood there trembling in the dark. His green eyes becoming grey as he watched her walk away, leaving Billy in the snow. And the boy knew that he had to run after her. He had to. 

 

Billy opened his mouth, trying to call out to his mother, but to his horror found that no sound came out. He moved his legs and took off into a run, but it felt like he was running in slow motion. Like he was running in drying cement as it was solidifying. He tried to scream for his mother, but still, no noise came from his throat. He pumped his legs as fast as he could, but still, he barely moved. 

 

Billy looked at his mother, his grey eyes pleading for her, but she stared at him with a cold gaze. No love or warmth or even pity residing inside them.

 

And then suddenly, they weren’t alone. Hundreds of people appeared out of thin air and stood before Billy as he continued to run after his mother. A crowd just like the one at the carnival all those years ago. And no matter where he ran or how hard he tried to weave through the crowd, they became thicker and thicker until the boy could no longer move. The people in the crowd stared at him with emotionless eyes as he struggled, and without saying a word they began to walk forward, dragging him along with them. 

 

“MOM!” Billy screamed, his voice strangled with tears. “MOM!” 

 

The woman stared at him and stood still. She did nothing as the waves of people swept him away from her. And as the crowd began to pull Billy down, hundreds of hands dragging him down into the darkness and choking him, she looked him in the eye, her face expressionless. And she said the one thing that shattered Billy’s heart….

 

“I never wanted you... so what makes you think I would help you.” 

 

Billy stared at her, tears welling up in his eyes and spilling over before he could stop them. The people pulled him down further into the dark and the boy lost sight of his mother….the last thing he saw was the inky blackness of the sky as he realized that the snow was never snow….

 

It was ash. 

 

Billy woke up with a jolt and shot upright in bed, a cry wrenched from his throat as he gasped and struggled to breathe in the dank air. His eyes were wide, no longer a cold grey but once again their soft green, and Billy stared at the wall in front of him, seeing the wall but not really. 

 

It was a nightmare. That was all it was. Just a really bad, really horrible nightmare. Billy covered his mouth with his hands and stifled a sob. It was a nightmare. A horrible nightmare and nothing more. Just a nightmare. The boy felt the cold sweat run down his neck and temple. He felt the cold air on his bare legs and he vaguely noticed that he had thrown off his covers during his sleep and was now left in his pajama shirt and shorts. 

 

The brunet shuddered violently, but not from the night chill. 

 

He knew that he probably shouldn’t be so bothered by this, nightmares weren’t a stranger to him and he knew that he was probably being childish, but there was just something about hearing someone you ‘care’ about say that they never wanted you. 

 

And even if it was only a dream, the words still resonated and echoed inside his head. 

 

Billy’s eyes watered and he breathed in shakily. The boy wiped at the unwelcomed tears furiously and sat straight up in bed. And almost manically, he threw off the remaining blankets and climbed down the bunk ladder. 

 

He needed to get out. He couldn’t just stay in his room and sit there waiting to go back to sleep. He needed to get away and breathe. He couldn’t breathe. He needed out. 

 

Billy grabbed his red hoodie and threw on the first pair of shoes he could find, not caring at all if they were his or not. He ran out of his room, hoodie hanging off of his shoulders, and rushed down the stairs, tripping on the carpeting as he crossed the dining room entrance.

 

“Billy?” the brunet heard someone say, their voice full of concern. 

 

The brunet mumbled an unheard apology and stumbled to the door, pulling on the rest of his jacket and swinging the door open. He was greeted with a strong gust of icy wind and the  cacophonous sound of rain roared in his ears. The boy winced as the wind bit his cheeks, sending him a warning that says he doesn’t want to be outside right now. But much to the wind’s chagrin, he ended up not caring. 

 

He just had to get out, even if that meant walking in the rain. 

 

“Billy!?” the voice called again. The teen ignored whoever called to him and took off, running down the sidewalk and getting soaked with rain. He felt the water pelt his skin and drench his hair, leaving it sopping wet and sticking to his forehead. And he felt the aches in his body as his feet pounded on the cement and his lungs began to sting painfully. It was as if icicles were being jabbed down his throat. 

 

Raindrops trickled down Billy’s face and blurred his vision, making him wipe his eyes every five seconds. But he wasn’t sure if they were actually raindrops or real tears. The boy turned a corner and ran across the street, his breaths resembling silver clouds as he continued to run in the rain. He wanted to forget everything and he wanted to get away. He wanted to pretend like he didn’t have a family like it was just him on his own. He wanted to pretend like he had never met the Vasquez’s and like they weren’t really his parents. He wanted to pretend that he hadn’t met Freddy or Mary or Darla or Eugene or Pedro. He wanted to pretend that he didn’t have the powers of Shazam. He wanted to pretend that he hadn’t been rejected by his mother or found her and he wanted oh so badly to pretend that everything was the way it had been for years. 

 

That it was still him on his own looking for his mom. 

 

Because those days were simple. When it was him against the world, and yes it was hard, but it was  _ simple.  _ And Billy wished for just a moment that none of the past year happened. He wanted to run away from all of it and he would’ve kept on running forever if he hadn’t slipped on slick grass and face planted in the dirt. 

 

The impact hit Billy hard. It knocked the air out of his lungs and the boy froze, lying on the ground and trying to figure out how to breathe again. Billy gasped suddenly, oxygen finally finding its way back into his body, and sputtered a cough. And as the brunet lied there on the cold, wet ground, he was brought back to reality. He felt his feet hurt from running, he noticed that his hands and legs were numb with cold, and his back was being battered by the oncoming rain, his lungs feeling like they were on fire. 

 

Billy felt the cold grass on his cheek and the wet hair plastered to his face, and out here, where no one could see him and where he was all alone, he finally let out a sob. His tears mixed with raindrops and with no holding back, Billy cried. His sobs lost in the din of rain hitting the ground.

 

_ Why didn’t she want me? _ He wondered. He had been a good son to her when they were together. And he didn’t mean to run away! It was his fault in the first place, he let go first and he had run away... It only makes sense that she would do the same to him. 

 

Billy laid on the cold unforgiving ground, knowing that he deserved it when he distantly heard footsteps running towards him. The rain mixed with the footsteps and he could hear panting, and before Billy knew it, he felt someone place a hand on his back.

 

“Billy?” he heard a voice say. “Billy, are you okay?” The boy hiccuped and an unsolicited whimper escaped his lips, giving away the fact that he was not okay. He began to curl in on himself on the muddy grass, his fists clenching, but the person stopped him. He felt hands firmly grip his arms and shoulder and pull him up from the wet ground, pulling him close to them and holding onto the teen. They wrapped their arms around him and placed a hand on the back of his head. The gesture comforting Billy just a little bit. 

 

The brunet cracked his eyes open, feeling the mud on his eyelids as he did so, and finally saw who had come all this way to comfort. Long, wet brown hair and hazel eyes stared back at him, a worried expression plain on the girl’s face as she held onto her little foster brother. It was his sister, Mary. 

 

Mary had been the one awake in the dining room when he had left so abruptly and Mary was the one to follow him out in this dreadful downpour. She had thrown on a raincoat and without a second thought just ran after him. 

 

A choked sob left Billy and he tucked his chin into his chest, suddenly feeling ashamed for wanting to pretend like he never had his siblings in his life. He didn’t deserve this family and they certainly didn’t deserve to be stuck with someone like him. 

 

The teen grabbed onto Mary’s sleeve, almost desperately, and folded in on himself in an attempt to make himself small and nonexistent. Mary hugged him even tighter to her person and stroked the back of his head. She knew that Billy needed her right now and that she had to be a big sister for him, and she knew that if this was any other day, Billy would’ve just brushed her aside and left.

 

But this was different. Something happened and Mary knew that it had to be really bad to cause her foster brother to run away in pain. So when she saw him run out the door, tears running down his face and his mind half there, she knew she had to do something. So she left behind her studying, put on the first raincoat she could find and ran out the door. She wasn’t going to abandon her brother when he needed her most. 

 

So Mary ran through the rain, thankful for the fact that she does cross-country, and followed her brother. And when she found him on the ground with mud staining his legs, his red jacket soaked all the way through and his skin deathly pale as he cried into the grass, her breathing stopped. And immediately she knelt beside him and pulled him close, hugging her brother and trying to protect him from the consuming rain as he continued to cry freely. His hands shook as they gripped her jacket and his breathing trembled as he gasped in between his sobs. 

 

Mary could feel her heartache inside her chest as she listened to the painful cries.

 

“Shhhh Billy it’s okay,” she whispered. She rested her chin on top of his head and stroked his wet hair. Had he always been this skinny? “You’re okay…” Mary wiped the mud and grass off of his face. “I’m here... I’ve got you.” she kissed his forehead comfortingly and fear settled in her stomach when she felt how cold he was. He was practically living ice. And the fact that he was wearing shorts and a t-shirt and a soaked hoodie could not have helped. Mary felt her foster sibling shift in her embrace.    

 

“-hy di-n sh- w-nt m-?” Billy mumbled into her shirt. Mary froze. 

 

“What?” she asked tentatively, her voice no louder than a whisper. Billy opened his eyes and looked at her with dull green eyes, and Mary sucked in a breath. There was no light in them, and the girl felt heavy dread settle in her chest.

 

“Why di-n’t she wan’ me?” he asked, his voice a ghostly whisper. 

 

Mary looked at her sibling, words stuck in her throat, and shook her head. She didn’t know who he was talking about, but she assumed that they were dearly important to him...or at least, had been.

 

“I don’t know,” she said to Billy. The brunet gasped shakily and looked down, a tear falling from his eye, and he sniffled. The two siblings shuddered as another strong gust flew past them, reminding them of the cold and rain surrounding them.  

 

“Let’s go home Billy,” Mary said. The boy flickered his gaze to look at his sister briefly, his eyes glinting with their familiar light, but then the light extinguished just as fast as it had appeared. Billy nodded and hung his head. 

 

Mary held onto him for a moment longer, trying so very hard to let him know wordlessly that she would always be there for him, before letting go. They stood up, both of them dripping wet from being in the rain for so long and Mary put her arm around his back to help steady him as he swayed from side to side. Mud was still smeared across his arms, legs, and face and Mary realized that when they got home, they would both have to clean up. And without saying any word, the two foster siblings walked home, side by side. 

* * *

 

 

Billy and Mary sat next to each other at the dining table, heavy blankets draping across both of them and untouched cups of hot cocoa steaming in their hands. All the mud and rainwater had been cleaned away and the pair had changed and were now wearing fresh, dry clothes. Mary had made the cocoa, hoping that it would probably help them talk or make Billy more comfortable, but so far neither one of them had said a word. 

 

Billy wasn’t saying anything about what happened to cause him to run off and Mary wasn’t going to pry her way through to get an answer. So if Billy didn’t want to talk, then fine, he didn’t have to talk. 

 

But Mary really wanted to know what happened, she needed to know why he had run out in the middle of the night and what had torn at his heart so badly. Mary knew it wasn’t a girl or a first love, because her brother would’ve said something and this wasn’t that kind of heartache. No, this was a deep and raw kind of pain, the kind that hurts your very being and impacts your life. And Billy didn’t want to talk about it because he knew that discussing it would make him vulnerable. 

 

Mary sighed. He was still trying to play the tough foster kid act. She gripped her mug tightly and took a sip, the warm chocolatey drink slid down her throat and warmed her up from inside. She glanced at the clock and sighed when she read the numbers. 

 

_3:23 am_

 

Mary turned to look at Billy and saw him staring at the wooden surface of the table, his mug in hand, and his green eyes still dull. He hadn’t moved in the last ten minutes. Mary breathed in deeply and let it out slowly. 

 

“Billy,” she began, “Who were you talking about?” 

 

The brunet didn’t move and continued to gaze at the table, his damp hair covering up most of his eyes. Mary’s eyebrows furrowed and sadness filled her eyes. 

 

“Billy, what happened?”

 

Billy was silent for a moment and Mary could feel the air grow heavy in the seconds before he responded. 

 

“I had a nightmare,” he mumbled, his voice sounding hoarse and dry. He gulped visibly before finally looking at Mary. His eyes full of sadness. “about my mom.” 

 

Mary felt her heart stop and her breath hitched. 

 

No one had heard about what happened with Billy’s mom at all. Since getting kidnapped and fighting Sivana had stopped them all from asking about it, it never came up. Until a week or so after the fight, and then all the foster kids came up to the brunet and asked how it went. They wanted to know if it was a happy reunion and they were all so excited to hear about what Billy had to say about his mom. 

 

But when Darla asked if Billy was happy he had found her, and when Eugene asked if he was going to go live with her now, and when Freddy asked if all the searching was worth it, the light disappeared from Billy’s eyes. His jaw clenched tightly and an icy glare replaced the normal warm spark in his eyes. And without saying anything, he shoved past all of them and walked away, leaving all of the siblings speechless. 

 

And that was it. That was all they ever heard about that.

 

But now, months later, Billy was finally telling Mary what happened. The senior girl swallowed the lump in her throat and got her nerves together. 

 

“What was it about?” she asked tentatively. Billy stared at her, the embers of a glare flaring inside of his eyes. But as quickly as they lit, they died down; the teen was too tired to fight with his foster sister this late at night. He was so exhausted, both physically and emotionally, so he might as well get it all over with. She did deserve to know. 

 

“I… I dreamt t-that she-e… abandoned me,” the boy said in a hushed voice, tears threatening of spilling over. “Again.” 

 

Mary stared at Billy, realization finally dawning in her eyes, and she stayed silent. Letting Billy know quietly that he could keep talking. He took in another shaky breath before continuing. 

 

“She…..she never w-wanted me. I lost h-her at the Chilladelphia carniv-val, years ago. I... let go of her h-hand and ran off.” Billy looked Mary in the eyes, his own glassy with unshed tears. “I couldn’t find her afterwards. She was gone, and I was lost, and I thought it was all my fault. I thought it was my fault I lost her…” Billy shook his head, a cold smirk tugging on his lips. His sadness suddenly turning into sarcastically cruel venom. “But then I found out that actually...she saw me. She saw me sitting all by myself with the police and she-she just  _ left.  _ And then I was stupid enough to spend the next ten years of my life looking for her, thinking that she still wanted me and that all I had to do was find her and apologize and then we would be happy.” Billy scoffed, his anger and frustration growing. “I was such an idiot.” 

 

“Hey, no you weren’t,” Mary said, trying to comfort him. But before she could say anything else he kept ranting. 

 

“But hey you know what, at least she told me when I met her. At least she told me  _ after  _ I spent my entire life looking for her and dreaming about the day when I could come home and we could be a family again. And at least I’m not four years old anymore, still thinking of the day when I would be reunited with her! No, I don’t need her anymore. Because she wasn’t there when I got kicked out of my first foster home, but I turned out fine right? She wasn’t there when I got beat up by bullies or abused by foster parents, but I stood up for myself and learned how to take care of myself. Who needs her? I certainly don’t. And I went through so much  _ fucking shit _ without her, but that taught me how to be strong and fight on my own! So who needs her!? Because I definitely DON’T.” 

 

Mary looked at Billy, her eyes sad. 

 

“I didn’t need her then and I sure as hell don’t need her now.”

 

“Billy-” 

 

“No, you know what Mary?” the brunet said frustratedly. His anger becoming more and more apparent the longer he talked. “I’m gonna go through my life without her! I’ve been doing just fine on my own anyway, so that’s what I’m gonna do! I’m gonna be an awesome superhero without her, the best ever! And I’m gonna live with my  _ real _ family, with you guys, without her! And I will do what she never did and I won’t abandon you! Because you’re my family and you’re all that I’ll ever need!”  

 

The air was silent, and Billy breathed heavily, clutching his cocoa mug tight enough to make his knuckles white. But as quickly as his anger grew, it just as quickly evaporated, and Billy was left with an overwhelming feeling of exhaustion. He let go of his mug and slouched in his chair, his lip trembling and his eyes cast downward. He could feel a headache coming on as an unwanted tear fell. 

 

“But….” he said timidly. “Why didn’t she want me, Mary?” 

 

Mary got up from her chair, throwing down her blanket, and grabbed her brother. Pulling him into a tight hug that Billy so desperately needed. The brunet clutched onto the older girl and closed his eyes shut, tucking his head into her shoulder and letting her hold him. He held onto Mary, feeling more tired than he ever has in his entire life, and he melted into the embrace. He felt like if he let go of her for even a moment, then she would disappear into thin air and he would be left all alone again. 

 

And Mary held onto her little brother, imagining that her arms were enveloping him in a force field, protecting him from all of the hurt he’s ever felt. She thought of herself as a shield and right now she was protecting Billy from years of pain and sorrow and comforting him from behind the force field. She wasn’t going to let go of him anytime soon, not until he was strong enough to face his pain again.

 

Because Mary knew that people were strong; everyone was strong in their own way. But sometimes, they were strong for too long. The walls they would build up would begin to chip and crack, and the pain and vulnerability leaks through. And then sometimes you have to break down and cry because you can’t be strong forever. No matter how hard you try. And right now, Mary realized that Billy had been too strong for way too long and he needed to cry. He needed a break from being strong. And right now there were no walls up between him and his pain. It was just him. 

 

So, it was Mary’s duty as his sister to be there for him when it cracks and comes crumbling down. And by God, she was going to be there for her brother no matter what. 

 

* * *

 

The following day, Mary walked up to the apartment building, her face set with determination, and she walked into the elevator and pressed the button a little harder than she should’ve. 

 

Last night, after….That...Billy and Mary stayed up together, both of them too exhausted/awake to go to bed if that made any sense. They made camp in the living room and watched some TV with the audio silent, reading the subtitles, neither of them saying anything. But to both of their surprise, they woke up a couple of hours later to Victor nudging them awake, sunlight streaming in through the windows.  

 

They had fallen asleep on the couch, and Victor had found them on the cushioned structure when he came down to make coffee. Mary leaning against a pillow on the armrest and Billy leaning against her shoulder, both of them passed out cold. 

 

They were both reluctant to wake up, but once they did, they lied about what happened, saying that the two of them fell asleep watching a movie after Mary finished her studying. 

 

“Sibling-bonding time.” they said, and Victor bought it without a second glance. They weren’t entirely lying. But when Mary went to her room and began to get ready for the day, something still bothered her from last night.

 

So she got dressed, ate breakfast, and left before anyone could stop her or ask where she was going. Mary got into her car and drove off, taking off down the street that she had run down just a couple of hours ago, and didn’t stop driving until she reached her destination. 

 

The old apartment building where Billy’s mother lived. 

 

Mary double checked the piece of paper she took from Eugene’s room. The same piece of paper that he had saved from all those weeks ago that said where Marilyn ‘Ordway’ Batson lived. Mary crumpled up the piece of paper and tossed it in the first garbage bin she set her eyes on. She entered the building and rode up the elevator feeling both confidence and nervousness. 

 

The elevator stopped on the floor and Mary got off, her footsteps light and strong. She made her way down the musty corridor and crinkled her nose as she walked past all of the molding and chipping doors. She heard a loud bang from inside one of the rooms and flinched. Mary gulped, feeling her anxiety rise, but she pushed it down. She was too far in now, no going back. 

 

The senior girl’s eyes found the door she was looking for and she took in a deep breath, squaring her shoulders. Wringing her hands tightly for one second, Mary brought up a fist and knocked on the door. The sound echoing inside her ears. 

 

“Just a second!” She heard a woman’s voice breathlessly call from inside. Mary swallowed. The door swung open and revealed a woman in her early thirties, caramel brown hair tied up in a messy bun and wearing a casual t-shirt, cardigans, and jeans. The instant she saw Mary her face fell and she got an apologetic look in her face. Mary could immediately tell that this woman’s life was full of stress not peaceful at all. 

 

“Oh I’m sorry, but I’m not interested in buying any girl scout cookies right now. I’m sorry but no.” she said as she tried to close the door, but Mary’s hand snapped out and stopped the door from closing. Marilyn stared at Mary in surprise.

 

“Oh, listen, I’ve been having a really rough day, so I am not really in the mood to argue with a freaking girl scout about thin mints or whatever your selling,” she said harshly. 

 

And Mary would’ve been surprised at her harsh words, if only she hadn’t been preparing her own harsh words herself. 

 

“I’m not here to sell girl scout cookies Mrs. Batson.” she said. The woman’s face fell “I’m here to talk about your son and my brother.” and a look of pure annoyance replaced it. 

“Look I’m not ready to deal with this right now, it’s not a good time for me so come back later when it is.”

 

Mary scoffed. “No. I’m gonna talk to you about this now because I don’t ever want to come back to this place. Mrs. Batson I’m not sure you fully understand this but you have had ten years to get yourself in a good place. So if you weren’t trying to make your life better, then what the hell exactly were you doing?” 

 

“I was…” Marilyn said before clearing her throat, “Look who even are you? I don’t know you, so I don’t have to explain my actions to you. Now get out of here before I call the police.” 

 

“I’m not leaving, not until I speak my mind. And for your information, I’m Billy’s sister. He’s my family and I won’t leave until I say what I have to say.”

 

The woman sighed, and Mary could tell that she was getting agitated by what she said. “Look, I was working. I had responsibilities to take care of and I didn’t have the room in my life for a son. So he had to wait until I was ready.” 

 

“Oh, that is a bunch of bullshit,” Mary said, her eyes hardening and her voice remaining deadly calm. “There is no responsibility more important than a mother to her child, and unlike what you think, Billy is not just a coat that you can put in a closet and pick up when you’re ready to wear it! He is a person whose life goes on and he’s not supposed to wait for you because you were supposed to already be there for him.” 

 

“Okay, you know what? You asked for it. You think I wanted to get pregnant!?” Marilyn yelled. Her patience snapping in half. “It just happened! I never planned for him, I never even  _ wanted  _ kids in the first place. He was a mistake! When he was a baby I was just so scared and my dad had just kicked me out and I was just divorced, so you’re really gonna tell me that I was stable enough to raise a child on my own? And besides, he landed on his feet. He turned out fine.”

 

The woman glared at Mary, and her expression became identical to Billy’s when he glared at someone. The look made Mary freeze and she gaped at Marilyn. The senior girl swallowed hard and felt her breath hitch. But not in nervousness, no... she was trying to quell her anger.

 

The anger she felt when she remembered all of the sorrow her little brother had been put through. The kind of anger she felt when she saw the Breyer’s bully Freddy, or when Pedro dealt with some of his homophobic classmates. This was the kind of anger she felt when she heard the horrible words an intolerant classmate tell Darla or when Eugene comes home with a destroyed robotics project. For this was the same anger she felt when she confronted every single one of her sibling’s tormentors, the ones who cause her family pain.

 

This was the anger she felt when she protected her family from any who cause it harm, and this woman, this horrible woman, had been the root of all of Billy’s pain and sorrow. And Mary wasn’t letting her off scot-free.  

 

“You make all of these excuses,” Mary spoke, her voice strong and cutting the air like a knife.  “You say that Billy had to wait, that it wasn’t the right time, that you’re not in a good place to bring him into your life. That you aren’t ready. Well, that’s all a bunch of bullshit… Because you don’t care enough about Billy to admit the truth.” 

 

Marilyn swallowed and stared icily at Mary. 

 

“You left him behind because caring for your son was too damn scary for you. You ran away, and you left behind someone who needed you when they needed you the most. Billy waited for you come and find him, but when you didn’t, he took things into his own hands and started looking for you. A woman who never wanted to be a mother and never wanted him.  And you say that you were too scared and not ready for any of this... well, Billy was terrified out of his mind when you left him behind. And no child should be ready to be abandoned by their mother. So you see I’m going to do the one thing you were too cowardly to do, and I’m going to be there for him when he needs me. Like any real family would do.” 

 

Mary glared at the woman one last time, before turning her back on her and walking down the hallway. Her righteous anger still thundered in her chest as she took each step closer to exiting the cursed building. She never wanted to set foot in this place ever again and she never wanted to be anywhere near that woman ever again in her life. She said what she needed to say, so Mary had no desire to ever meet her for the rest of her life. 

 

* * *

 

Mary plopped down next to Billy as he sat on the couch reading a book. It was a comic book, but it’s still a book nonetheless. It seemed like Freddy was starting to get to him. The older girl nudged the brunet’s arm. 

 

“Hey,” she said, getting his attention. Billy looked at her warily, his gaze questioning. The light had returned to his eyes since last night and much to Mary’s happiness, they no longer looked dull and grey. The change made Mary smile and she prayed that she would never see have to see his eyes look so lifeless and empty for the rest of both of their lives. 

 

“What?” he asked. “I’m kind of reading here,” he said kind of bluntly. 

 

“Yeah, yeah I know, I just...I just wanted to say that if you ever need me...I’ll be right here for you. Got it?” Mary said, her voice and face evident with sincerity. Billy gave her a weird look and set down his book. 

 

“Yeah, I know Mary.” His eyes flickered. “But if you’re just saying that to make me feel better about last night, then-”

 

Mary shoved his shoulder and then pulled him into a hug. The teen froze for a second before relaxing into the embrace and hesitantly returning it. 

 

“Billy, I swear to you. I’m not going anywhere and I sure as hell am not saying this to make you feel better. You’re my family and no way in hell am I ever leaving you behind. And I  _ want _ you to be my brother, Billy. We all want you to be.” Mary said. She felt Billy’s shoulders loosen beneath her hands and heard him breathe a sigh of relief. 

 

“Thank you, Mary….Thank you.”         

 

**Author's Note:**

> *sigh* what a great story. I actually had this idea come to me in a dream, as embarrassing as that is. And if you did notice, yes i modeled parts of it after Fresh Prince. Because, that scene where Will is angry about his dad leaving fits so well with Billy and just that one scene is so powerful. How could I NOT relate it to Billy?
> 
> Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed it, and as you can see I tried to end it on a happy note. And since it's nearly eleven pm, im headingto bed. Night ya guys!


End file.
